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NBA: Kings upset Clippers in Sacramento

Toney Douglas, acquired by the Sacramento Kings just prior to the trade deadline, teamed up with Marcus Thornton to connect on a brace of back-breaking triples in the fourth quarter to stun the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-101, Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time) at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California.

The loss sent the Clippers to fourth place in the West, with a 46-22 card, after they dropped behind the 45-21 Memphis Grizzlies. Sacramento on the other hand improved to 24-44.

The two sides went back-and-forth all throughout the game, and a pair of free throws by Chris Paul had the Clippers within two points, 98-96, with 3:43 left to play. That was when the Kings got a clutch of triples from their two reserve guards, sandwiching a dunk by Blake Griffin. When the dust settled, the score was 110-98, in favor of the home team, with 1:41 remaining.

A split at the line by Chris Paul made the up-hill climb to a possible comeback that much more difficult, making it an 11-point game with 1:37 left. Douglas however added to his total with a 4-of-4 clip from the foul line, sealing the win for his side.

The Clippers were up 54-52, under two minutes to go before the half, but six consecutive scores by center DeMarcus Cousins over the intermission period had the Kings up 58-54, 15 seconds into the third.

Attacks by LA to the rim got them to the line repeatedly, and along with a Jamal Crawford triple, put the Clippers up, 77-71, 3:46 left in the third, before another trey by the reserve guard made it 86-78, early in the fourth.

The Kings responded with a 13-0 blitz, arming the home team with a 91-86 advantage, 7:18 remaining in the game. A quick 5-0 run from the Clippers knotted things up but Douglas and another trade acquisition, Patrick Patterson, canned jumpers for a four-point Sacramento lead, prior to Paul's charities.

Blake Griffin led all players with 26 points, plus four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Jamal Crawford poured in 25 off the bench, while Chris Paul's double-double of 11 points and 15 dimes was gained due to seven of his side's 17 turnovers.

The Kings shot 50.7 percent from the field, including 14-of-28 from beyond the arc. The Clippers meanwhile were 45.0 percent on their attempts, 34.6 percent from downtown. - AMD, GMA News